Prospects for Democracy

This volume offers a comprehensive overview of current debates about democracy across the globe. Since the political turmoil in Eastern Europe began in the 1980s, the debate about the meaning and future of democracy has intensified. "Prospects for Democracy" assesses this debate through wide-ranging theoretical considerations and a diverse set of case studies. The volume begins with a major overview of the concept of democracy from ancient city states and leads to contemporary discussion about the possibility of international democracy. It goes on to examine contemporary models of democracy, exploring their strengths and weaknesses, and confronts a wide variety of questions about the proper form and scope of democratic politics. In the final part, the context and prospects of democracy are investigated across many of the world's major regions, including Western and Eastern Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle-East. The text offers an account of the debates about democracy and the actual prospects of democracy across the world today. It examines the strengths and limits of liberal democracy and the strengths and limits of its alternatives.
Students and academics in politics, political theory, sociology of politics, international relations and all those interested in democracy and democratic theory should find this book of interest.